


Not-So-Noble Deeds and Hot Baths

by Weywyrdsis (AlorevFritz)



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: A Lot Of Nudity, F/F, Female Pronouns for Grell Sutcliff, Nudity, There's some heavily implied smut btw, pre-Jack the Ripper Arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 22:35:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20235484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlorevFritz/pseuds/Weywyrdsis
Summary: ...are perhaps a close second for the best cure for depression. The addition of one Grell Sutcliff, so-called Queen of the Reapers, seems to make up the difference as far as Angelina Dalles is concerned. She ought to be more concerned about the situation she'd gotten herself in, sitting in a hot bath with a woman who could kill her with more ease than Angelina could ever have when taking care of those other women. But she rather doesn't, and it seems to be working in her favour.





	Not-So-Noble Deeds and Hot Baths

**Author's Note:**

> Whenever I write Madame Red and Grell it gets smutty. Idk I can't help myself. For a prompt about Sharing Clothes, they do...they spend most of the fic without clothes, and I refuse to apologize for that.

It had started to rain on the way home. Angelina had trekked her way home the way she'd trekked her way there, far too worried over getting caught to take a carriage. 

The...the reaper had offered her her coat, dancing around An's footsteps in the rain, as if it did not bother her at all. Still, she was soaked through now, heels clicking away as she followed Angelina through the estate. The dripping of water made an accompaniment to the staccato strikes.

Maybe, she ought to have offered the coat back. But they were already inside, and it was delightfully warm, dark and wool and hiding the most errant of bloodstains on her clothes. The reaper had not asked, and so instead Angelina had tightened her hold on its collar, breathed in the scent of roses and blood and metallic smoke. 

They reached her private rooms in an almost silence, the reaper humming idly. Finally, An shed her coat, turning to face her. "Let me call for a bath. I need to clean up, and you must be chilled."

"Thank you, Madame." She reached up with a gloved hand, carefully wiping away any dripping makeup with steady fingers. 

"Angelina, in private, please, or...or An."

"Of course. You can just call me Grell, my dear."

Angelina looked away, calling for a servant, and a hot bath to be readied. Grell flitted to the other side of the room, exploring. Angelina watched her as she did, long red locks heavy with water and she wondered if her porcelain skin sported goosebumps.

Grell was still inspecting when the bath was drawn, and An had taken off her shoes, moving to inform the reaper. She turned to face Angelina too quickly, too sure of her movements and of Angelina's despite the lack of noise. Those bright green eyes looked down, calculating. Altogether feline if her pupils were only slightly thinner.

Angelina drew herself together, regardless of the effect Grell seemed to have, both unnerving and intriguing. "Come along. I suppose you won't be scandalized if I suggest we bathe together?"

"I could hardly turn down an offer from a woman as lovely as yourself." Those teeth of hers were as endearing as they were indicative of something more terrifying underneath such a sweet smile.

Angelina closed the bathroom door behind them, pulling Grell to face her. Grell didn't stop her, even as she plucked the other woman's cravat loose and the top three buttons of her shirt. Then a finger came up, pressed to Angelina's lips. "Be careful, Angelina. I'm not...exactly..."

She huffed against the finger and pulled her head back to meet glowing eyes. "I know. I can...I am a doctor, and I am not blind. I don't...it hardly matters. Hold still; you're cold and wet and shivering."

And she was. The reaper's finger shook a little against ruby lipstick. But she held still, and let Angelina remove her shirt and waistcoat, flung across the floor. It made a wet thunk against the wall. 

Grell only watched as Angelina plucked off her gloves, finger by finger. Once freed, she reached up, wiping softly at something on Angelina's cheek. Angelina flushed a little, looking down, catching sight of blood on Grell’s fingers. "I'll let you do the rest."

Grell chuckled, even as Angelina began undressing. Firm hands plucked at her corset for her, helping her shed the layers like she was losing the weights holding her to her crime. She could have sworn she was able to stand straighter and already becoming warmer as the dress was removed from where it was plastered to her skin with rain.

"It's a shame. But you might need to burn these, with that amount of blood. A simply gorgeous dress, though." 

"Hmm. I suppose it will be what it will be. I have plenty of others to wear." Grell took her hand to assist her into the bath, stepping in afterward and sliding underneath Angelina, facing her. Angelina looked away from the gaze, picking up a washcloth to work idly at her bloodstained skin.

"You're not afraid, that's a rare thing among the humans I've met."

"I've killed. I'm sure one day I'll have to answer for my revenge. I see death every day; I'm not afraid of it."

"That wasn't what I meant." Grell's voice was soft, and when Angelina looked up, she wasn't looking at her, looking across the room at something of feigned interest.

"I suppose it would be expected for some to be afraid. Is it strange to say I can't find it in myself to care? Not considering...what I just did."

"Hmm…" Grell slid down into the water, taking the washcloth and scrubbing at her makeup. Angelina watched for a transformation, only to find it was minimal. There were fake eyelashes removed, and it was easier to see the effect of the steam blushing her skin. Besides that, there was an easy beauty underneath Grell's makeup, one she was enhancing rather than covering. 

Grell raised an eyebrow. "Have you thought about my offer, Angelina?"

"It is...I suppose…"

"Angelina." The reaper sat up, leaning forward. Her hand tilted Angelina's head up to look at her, nails tapping on the bottom of her chin. "An offer and nothing more. For now."

"It would benefit both of us, wouldn't it?"

"Yes." Grell let her go, leaning forward so their noses touched for a brief moment as if inspecting Angelina. “Such a change from the woman I just saw to the woman you are now. How interesting.”

Angelina bristled, gaze narrowing. “You have no right to question my motives.”

“No, I suppose not.” Grell smiled a little, shifting her head to the side a little so that her breath was brushing Angelina’s cheek. “But I don’t like wasting my time.”

“Then why did you follow me home?”

“You’re an exceptional lady Madame. And fascinating. But I need to know if you’re worth my time.”

Angelina moved her head, catching Grell’s cheek with her lips. The reaper jolted, moving to pull away and Angelina caught her by her hair, tugging her back lightly so they were face to face again. “Tell me what you want Grell.”

Grell’s eyes narrowed, but her smile widened. “Is that how it is Angelina?”

“Yes.”

There was a flush rising up to the Reaper’s cheeks, and Angelina was quite sure it wasn’t the steam this time. “I don’t believe this is what I offered.”

“Are you opposed? From one singular lady to another?”

Grell leaned back, away, looking rather disinterestedly to one side as she lowered herself into the water, soaking in the heat. She was tapping the edge of the tub with perfect fingernails, perfectly painted in deep maroon. “Why?”

“Why not?”

Grell scowled, lip raising up to reveal those sharp teeth again. “I do not appreciate being played for a fool. Do you think I cannot make the connection? I assume we took your husband's soul not as long ago as you would like. I will not be his replacement, or whatever you would like me to be.”

An’s breath caught and she nudged at Grell with a foot. “I am...not. If I had wanted that, I would have done so by now. I...considered it, but that was some time ago. For the moment, for tonight, you are welcome to share my bed, if you wish. Perhaps...more than that, but that’s not a decision for tonight, I think.”

Grell rose, a fiercely uncaring beauty as water slide off her body and back into the tub. Every line of her body was defined as if she’d been carefully chiselled out of marble, a Venus de Milo carefully being carved out of Michaelangelo's David. She rippled with a power An could never hope to match, made dangerous by the bright intelligence and wit behind her eyes. It would have been a simpler thing if Grell was simple and strong and brutish, but there was nothing to indicate that her height and those blessedly muscular arms and thighs were the only attributes she used. There was an awareness about her Angelina didn’t see very often, an awareness over her body and mind and environment that was terrifying if you had reason to fear it. An was pretty sure she did, but it was intoxicating all the same.

“To bed then Madame?” The reaper stepped out, wrapping her hair up in a towel and another wrapped around her body beneath her arms. She offered a hand for Angelina to take and she stood carefully, taking the offered support to step out into the much colder air. Grell had her bundled up in a towel smoothly, lifting An and carrying her back and away to her bed. She flailed a little before melting into those strong arms and letting Grell treat her like a fragile piece of stained red glass. Grell set her on the bed gently, leaning over Angelina for a moment. An held her gaze, Grell’s forearms planted on either side of her on the bed. The surgeon looked up and took in the face so close to her, the loosely upturned brows, porcelain skin, strong chin and soft cheeks. Grell’s head inclined a bit, nose touching An’s ever so lightly, and An pushed back, noses now slotted together cleanly. Her hands went up, tossing off the towel and furrowing into the base of her neck, playing with hair gently. Grell’s entire body seemed to melt against hers, lovely crimson hair creating a curtain around them that Angelina could have sworn was impenetrable to the outside world.

Grell pulled back with some sort of forlorn expression, lips parted just the slightest. Angelina watched as a few thoughts seemed to flitter through the movement of her brows, up and down and together, and then she kissed An again, following her lips as if she had tasted something addictive. An hadn’t quite felt that from anyone else she’d kissed before. Grell pulled back eventually and Angelina’s fingers were suddenly at her own lips, pressing the memory of Grell’s soft lips into her own.

Grell shook herself a little, spraying water across the rather expensive bedding without care. She turned nimbly on her toes, like a dancer preparing to make her way across a stage and stalked over to the closet. “Anything particular you like to wear to bed? And do you mind if I borrow something?”

“Bring over whatever you may like, I really have no preference. If you prefer to wear anything at all.” Angelina couldn’t help but laugh as Grell turned around, going from wide-eyed to a laughing little grin. “Well?”

“Hmm, let me see. What a lovely closet, Angelina.” She tossed a few things back to the bed, and then followed them, both towels were gone now and re-unveiled in her glory, not the beauty of a Grecian or Renaissance woman, but of a slim and tight beauty from a different world. An climbed back on her bed, back towards the mountain of pillows. Grell met her there, flopping backward and letting the pillows fly up around her. Angelina rolled, bringing herself up on top of Grell, seated on her thighs. Grell turned red, flushing in a patchy spread around her neck and cheeks.

An simply sat there and waited. It was a very long few moments. Eventually, Grell’s hands drifted to her hips, delicately as if she was certain she would be told off or the woman beneath her would crumble under her touch. An didn’t bother to wait, simply pushed into the touch and set her hands to exploring.

Grell shivered under her touch, her skin just a little cold, and a little stiff. Angelina could only compare it to the recently passed before the life had fully drifted out of them. Or perhaps that of a patient so dearly fighting, forcing life back into their body against all odds. She found she couldn't stop touching, as the heat of her own hands marked Grell's skin for a few seconds at a time. 

The pillows flounced out around them, and the blankets were shoved away so that there was nothing hiding them from each other. Angelina didn’t think she could much take the idea of Grell pulling away from her now. If she had thought perhaps they wouldn’t get around to clothing themselves for bed, then she knew now that they would hardly be getting around to that. It certainly wasn’t on her list of priorities as long as Grell’s body was beneath hers and her limbs and lips were pliant. It was the second time this night that she had felt this way, addicted to the moment as she hadn’t been in far too long. If it took death, be it actual death or that of death personified to make her feel like living again, then so be it. 

Grell was still with her when she awoke, albeit not in bed but rather across the room, curled up in one of Angelina’s robes next to the fire and sipping from a cup. “Breakfast?”

“Mhm.” Grell looked back, the tea, An presumed, fogging up her glasses a little. The robe was a little too short, but she was tucked up into the chair, with the dark, furry collar framing her jaw softly. “Come join me, darling?”

Angelina rolled over, shoving her head into the pillow, even as the sunlight began to warm her back and neck. “In a moment.”

“Is that so. Shouldn’t a proper hostess entertain her guests?” Grell’s voice got closer until suddenly An was being lifted like she had last night and wrapped in another robe, one of silk and lace as opposed to the long, fuzzy one Grell had chosen. Grell let her down gently on her lap, letting An curl into her body. She took the cup for Grell and picked out her own breakfast from the spread on the table. “Much better darling.”

Angelina laughed into her chest. “I suppose I’ll have some damage control to do with my staff.”

“Perhaps, but I don’t think it will be quite that bad. I met your maid this morning, covered up of course, and she seemed rather pleased that you’d at least ventured out and brought someone to bed. I’d be a little bit more concerned about her mindset than anything else.” Grell sipped, her other hand rubbing a soft circle on An’s waist. 

“She’ll be quiet about it, but thank you.” An’s lips were ghosting breathlessly against Grell’s skin, placed where she really couldn't help but kiss at the marks she’d created the night before. 

“May I take our time last night as your agreement to the arrangement I suggested?”

“Yes, I think so. We’ll have to get you a different look and perhaps a job in my house, that should keep away any questions. Is that alright with you?”

“It will do, I think, though I suppose you won’t mind if I find my excuses back into your bed darling.” Grell’s lips landed on the top of her head, and Angelina preened under the single-minded attention.

“No, I...I do rather think that will be alright.”

“Lovely, now, darling, I do have my reports to make. Would you mind terribly if I borrowed some clothes to make my way back to my office? I’ll return as quickly as I can my dear.”

Angelina nodded a little but didn’t move. “Of course you may. I’m not certain if my dresses will be tall enough for you, but I do have some riding pants that are a bit long. Would you like those?” 

“That should do, I assume you have matching shirts and jackets?”

“Yes, I think I have one that will go rather well with your shoes.” Finally, she stood, brushing herself off. Grell’s hand brushed hers and she latched onto it with a little desperation, but far more tenderness than she had originally expected. Perhaps she wasn’t meant to get quite so attached, quite so quickly, but it was getting a little too late to regret any of that. And the situation simply wasn’t a normal enough one for her to bother worrying about it. The reward of Grell herself seemed far better than any consequences. 

Grell scooped up her coat as they traversed back into Angelina’s closet and she reluctantly let go of the reaper’s hand to go about looking for the appropriate outfit. She took Grell’s coat as she dressed, watching closely to remember what lay beneath and how those clothes sat on her beautiful body. Grell turned on an easy heel, grinning at Angelina. She laughed a little, a freeing sound coming from her chest that she hadn’t heard leave her lips in quite some time. “I shall see you when you return, and have something of an idea to let you wander around her freely.”

“Thank you, darling.” Grell pranced back, and paused, and looked Angelina up and down. “Well, I suppose you can hold on to that for me until I get back, yes?”

She hadn’t exactly realized how tightly she was holding Grell’s coat and flushed, not meeting her gaze. “I...you could-”

“Oh no, darling, that’s quite alright.” Grell took the coat gently, unwrapping it from Angelina’s arms and wrapping it around her shoulders. “There we are. I’ll be back soon, try not to have too much fun without me.

The kiss to her cheek was delicate and soft and Angelina Dalles was left wrapped up in a dark wool coat smelling of expensive perfume and blood with the memory of chilled lips on her skin.


End file.
